Finishing Your Degree at Home: How it Feels to be a College Student during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Millions of students throughout the world have been doing all of their schoolwork from their homes in the wake of the coronavirus. My boyfriend Drew and I are among them.
Drew and I lived together in State College and would drive to classes on campus together every weekday, and never imagined that the last semester of college would be one that would take place from his parents' house in Emmitsburg, Maryland. But unfortunately that's been the case. A shelter-in-place order was implemented in Maryland on March 30th, 2020, meaning that nobody in Maryland is to leave their house unless it is absolutely essential to do so.
Drew and I live together with his mom, Tammy, his stepdad, Dave, and his two dogs Adam and Titan. Drew and his mom have always been very close, as he lived primarily with her growing up. Tammy had already been working from home before the pandemic began, and is now in the process of looking for a new job as her workplace is closing. Her days have been filled with the last little bits of work from her former employer and phone interviews with the few places that remain open and hiring.
She also plans on beginning school in May to finish her bachelor’s degree. So she’s been in the process of enrolling and getting everything together.
Tammy’s days have also been filled with doctor’s visits. In mid-April, she discovered a pain in her lower abdomen that turned out to be appendicitis. She had surgery to remove her appendix and had it analyzed, which has since led to a discovery of a cancerous tumor that has spread to her stomach. Her coming days, even with the world in a pandemic, will be filled with doctor’s visits and likely, cancer treatments.
Dave Becker plays a game on his iPad and watches TV to keep himself busy while social distancing. #covid19globalview #comm481virus @webcurtpsu pic.twitter.com/c0QcReOXSH
— rachel but at home (@rachelanita12) April 1, 2020
Drew’s stepdad Dave is a veteran and retired police officer. His days are filled with phone calls to friends and old Western movies. This has been a really difficult transition for Dave, as most of his days were spent with friends at the local chapter of the American Legion. He often cooks and will go to the grocery store just to get himself out of the house.
Drew’s days are filled with schoolwork, video games, and Discord calls with his friends. He is in his fifth (and final) year at Penn State, completing a degree in psychology. Drew has Crohn’s disease, so every six weeks he has been visiting his gastroenterologist in Altoona to get infusions of his medication.
This pandemic has hit him hard, because most of his days were previously filled with in-person classes, nights out with friends, and trips to Harrisburg to visit his long-time best friend. His best friend, who is also in his final year of college, now lives at home in Virginia, and the separation between Drew and his friend is larger. However, they do talk just about every day and have active plans to hopefully go to the beach in the summer if this all lets up.
Drew Eusini draws pictures of objects around him in Emmitsburg, MD on Friday at 7pm. He has picked up art again as a hobby during this pandemic and is able to use the resources he has to make art out of anything. #comm481virus #covid19globalview @webcurtpsu pic.twitter.com/VB0kcGtnMs
— rachel but at home (@rachelanita12) April 8, 2020
My days are filled with schoolwork, Animal Crossing, and music. I’m almost done with my final year at Penn State, completing a degree in broadcast journalism. I have spent my time teaching myself new things on the guitar, and have been building my own island on Animal Crossing.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to reconnect with some friends I haven’t talked to in a while, as many people are using this time to connect with others despite not being able to physically be with many people. This transition to an online lifestyle has been difficult for me, as I have bipolar disorder and ADHD, which make it hard to keep my mood where it needs to be and hard to focus on classes with distractions around me at home.
Drew’s family and I are sticking all of this out by spending time together, getting our work done, and trying to make the best of this whole situation.